A MAGAZINE FOR THE OWNER/PILOT OF KING AIR JULY 2020 • VOLUME 14, NUMBER 7 • $6.50

Dressed to Impress South Wales charter operation adds bespoke service to match the King Air’s impressive ramp appeal

King July 2020 VolumeAir 14 / Number 7 A MAGAZINE FOR THE OWNER/PILOT OF KING AIR AIRCRAFT

2 Contents EDITOR Kim Blonigen EDITORIAL OFFICE 2779 Aero Park Dr., Traverse City MI 49686 2 Phone: (316) 652-9495 Ramped Up – King Air 200 E-mail: [email protected] series’ ramp appeal impresses PUBLISHERS Dave Moore charter passengers Village Publications by MeLinda Schnyder GRAPHIC DESIGN Rachel Wood PRODUCTION MANAGER Mike Revard 12 Ask The Expert – Treat Your PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR Jason Smith King Air Kindly ADVERTISING DIRECTOR by Tom Clements 20 John Shoemaker King Air Magazine 2779 Aero Park Drive 28 Traverse City, MI 49686 Phone: 1-800-773-7798 Fax: (231) 946-9588 E-mail: [email protected] ADVERTISING ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR AND REPRINT SALES Betsy Beaudoin Phone: 1-800-773-7798 E-mail: [email protected] ADVERTISING ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Shannon Martin 28 Phone: 1-800-773-7798 Value Added Email: [email protected] 12 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Rhonda Kelly, Mgr. Kelly Adamson 30 Jessica Meek Technically... Jamie Wilson 20 P.O. Box 1810 In History – – Traverse City, MI 49685 1-800-447-7367 Diversify or Die by Edward H. Philips 32 ONLINE ADDRESS www.kingairmagazine.com Advertiser Index SUBSCRIPTIONS King Air is distributed at no charge to all registered owners of King Air aircraft. The mailing list is updated bi-monthly. All others may sub­scribe by writing to: King Air, P.O. King Air is wholly owned by Village Press, Inc. and is in no way associated with or a product of Textron Aviation. Box 1810, Traverse City, MI 49685, or by King Air (ISSN 1938-9361), USPS 16694 is published monthly by Village Press, Inc., 2779 Aero Park Drive, Traverse City, Michigan calling 1-800-447-7367. Rates for one year, 49686. Periodicals Postage Paid at Traverse City, MI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to King Air, Village Press Inc., 12 issues: United States $15.00, Canada $24.00 (U.S. funds), all other foreign $52.00 P.O. Box 1810, Traverse City, MI 49685. Telephone (231) 946-3712. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. (U.S. funds). Single copies: United States Copyright 2020, Village Publications. $6.50, Canada/Foreign $9.00. ADVERTISING: Advertising in King Air does not necessarily imply endorsement. Queries, questions, and requests for media kits should be directed to the Advertising Director, King Air, P.O. Box 1810, Traverse City, Michigan 49685. Telephone 1-800-773-7798. COVER PHOTO Courtesy of DragonFly Aviation Services Limited MANUSCRIPTS: King Air assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or art work. While unsolicited submissions are welcome, it is best to query first and ask for our Writer’s Guidelines. All unassigned submissions must be accompanied by return postage. Address queries and requests for Writer’s Guidelines to the editor.

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 1 Ramped Up

2 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 Ramped Up King Air 200 series’ ramp appeal impresses charter passengers by MeLinda Schnyder

ne of Howard Palser’s childhood memories from growing up in the coastal city of Cardiff in Great Britain’s South Wales region is of his parents taking him and his brother on Sunday afternoons to watch aircraft landing and taking off at the airport. He remembers Osipping lemonade while watching what he describes as pure theater, when the Cambrian Airways’ Douglas DC-3 Dakotas fired up: engines coughing up smoke and belching flames out of the exhausts with a cacophony of noise. He also saw the comings and goings of the more modern F27 Friendship operated by the Irish airline .

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 3 While the experience piqued his interest in aircraft in 1990 and has driven fewer than 1,000 miles per year.) and planted the seed for learning to fly later in life, he While aviation was also an interest, neither became never imagined that he’d one day operate an air charter his career. business out of “The White Building” at Cardiff Airport, Instead, he became a lawyer. He spent his first 20 a facility that back then was the head office of the airline years in the practice he joined out of law school, then that was eventually absorbed into British Airways. started his own practice with two junior partners in 1992. His was not a direct flight path, however. Howard What he intended to be a boutique firm specializing in had a successful career as a lawyer, learning to fly at litigation, principally acting for insurance companies, age 40 and then using an airplane for business travel rapidly expanded into a large practice so that in five throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. When he years the firm employed 70 lawyers and a total head decided to retire from practice in 2003, he hit on the count of 130. It was during that time that he realized idea of setting up the only air charter company based at the time savings of flying himself to visit his offices in Cardiff and the first in Wales to offer jet-engine aircraft. five cities and clients located throughout the U.K. DragonFly Aviation Services Limited, which acquired “My interest in aviation was sufficient for my wife to the airline’s old call-sign of Cambrian, turns 16 this year make the inspired choice of a trial flight as a present for and has flown more than 12,000 commercial charter my 40th birthday,” Howard said. “I very much enjoyed hours, nearly all in 200 series aircraft. that, signed up for some lessons and qualified for a pilot’s license in 1990. With a friend who is a true aviation enthusiast, who had also qualified for his license, I Filling an unmet need in Cardiff bought a Socata TB-200, an attractive, modern and His father was an engineer who had his own small well-built four-seat, single-engine French aircraft. Flying garage, which stoked Howard’s lifelong interest in cars. this aircraft around the U.K. for business and realizing (He owns a rare 1957 Daimler Drophead Coupé, of which the savings of time that could be achieved prompted me only 57 were made, and a BMW Z1 that he bought new to set up DragonFly 10 years or so later.”

4 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 Howard has had a lifelong interest in cars due to his father owning a small garage. Here he is with his 1990 BMW Z1 and at left is his rare 1957 Daimler Drophead Coupé.

Howard retired from his firm in 2003 and opened DragonFly in 2004 with his wife Nerida. At first, he maintained a connection to the legal industry as chairman of an international association of lawyers headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, while growing the charter business. It didn’t take long, though, for DragonFly to command all of his attention. Growth was fast because DragonFly was the only air charter company to serve the business community in South Wales. His decision to start the business with a King Air and operate from Cardiff Airport allowed him to offer time-efficient and cost-effective transportation throughout the U.K. and Europe. “We are based on the south side of the airport, on the other side from the main passenger terminal,” Howard said of the Cardiff Airport. “Traffic is relatively light and we are not subject to the use of slots for aircraft arrivals and departures. Because there are no environmental restrictions, the airport is open 24/7 which is rare in our small country where airspace is busy and highly controlled.” Another factor that accelerated the company’s growth from a standing start to nearly 400 charter hours within a year was the recognition of DragonFly by charter brokers.

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 5 DragonFly’s first aircraft, a 1980 B200 Super King Air pictured here at Gibraltar Airport, has been retrofitted with Blackhawk PT6A-61 engines, 4-blade props and upgraded avionics.

These brokers produced charters from airports other than Cardiff, mainly in the South of England and peripheral airports in the greater London area, which are no more than a 30- to 40-minute flight from Cardiff. “I believe the brokers were pleased to have another option to Scotland put clients, and those relationships we made with brokers in the early days still hold good today,” Howard said. “They soon found that we were competitively priced, able to posi- tion quickly and inexpensively from our base, and were not restricted by airport closing times. Brokers were also impressed by the safety factor Northern of flying at all times with two fully Ireland qualified, type-rated commercial pilots: a captain and a first officer. Although a significant extra cost to us, I believe that in the densely con- - England gested airspace in which we operate, having two genuinely experienced Wales pilots up front provides an extra - Based out of Cardiff Airport, located margin of safety.” in the South Wales region of Great Stanstead Britain, allows DragonFly to offer Oxford time-efficient and cost-effective Cardiff Luton London Building a business around City transportation throughout the Heathrow the King Air 200 series U.K. and Europe. Gatwick Biggin Hill Farnborough Howard said he briefly considered purchasing a Cessna Golden Eagle to start DragonFly but a test flight in a 1980 B200 Super King Air owned by Manhattan Air Charter changed his mind. ›

6 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020

“I was guided by a professional purchased a 1995 King Air B200SE, King Airs to its AOC that were pilot who had flown as safety pilot tail number G-MEGN. purchased on behalf of clients with me in my light aircraft,” he said. and are managed and operated for “MEGN was named after our “The test flight confirmed not only charter by DragonFly. In 2014, a first grandchild,” Howard said. that it was the type of aircraft that 2003 King Air B200, was purchased “The aircraft was built as a special was ideal for the proposed operation, for a U.K.-resident French client. equipment model with limited but the buzz I felt following the flight This aircraft was originally operated instrumentation and furnishing. On confirmed to me that electing to as a training aircraft by the Royal acquisition, it was virtually rebuilt switch from law to aviation was the Air Force before it was reconfigured with new avionics, tables, partitions, way to go.” as a civil aircraft, refurbished and window polarizers and a full strip repainted in DragonFly’s livery. The He ended up buying the very and respray in the company livery. aircraft was given the registration aircraft he flew that day, tail number Expecting a gradual increase in G-OLIV after Howard and Nerida’s business, I was taken by surprise G-BVMA. It is still part of the fleet – second granddaughter, Olivia. by the rapid growth that ensued. “performing sterling work” he says DragonFly added the fourth King This was largely attributable to the – and a few years ago was retrofitted Air in May 2019, taking delivery brokers who had access to what with Blackhawk PT6A-61 engines at the Textron Aviation factory in was, to all intents and purposes, a and 4-blade props. The aircraft’s Wichita, , of a new King Air new aircraft with an attractive beige avionics have been upgraded and 250 with the registration of G-NICB. leather interior that gave the cabin the transponders are scheduled to a light and airy feel.” “Technically a B200GT, we be modified soon for ADS-B Out. acquired the 250 for a new client DragonFly holds an Air Operator’s and arranged to ferry the aircraft to A little more than two years Certificate (AOC) issued by the into operating DragonFly, Howard Cardiff on a route from Wichita to U.K. Civil Aviation Authority and Montreal in Canada, to Goose Bay decided to add a second aircraft technically is classified as an in Newfoundland, to Greenland, then to help manage maintenance airline since most of its flights Iceland, to the Isle of Man and then downtime and overlapping charters. are international. More recently, to Cardiff – a journey of three days in In January 2007, the company DragonFly has added two more testing weather conditions,” Howard said. “We manage this aircraft and operate it for commercial charter TSO High Altitude having generous access to it. Being virtually brand new and looking to FAA Approved Mask be ‘just out of the box,’ it is a firm favorite with clients.” The company also manages a Nextant 400XTi, a variant of the Hawker 400 and therefore a close relative of the King Air. This aircraft, registration G-SKBD, is used exclusively by its owner and is no with longer available for charter. comfort fit headgear DragonFly’s business falls into two categories: charters for individuals or corporate clients (booked direct or through brokers) and AOG recovery work for a major U.K. airline. They gained the prestigious contract in 2016. This requires G-MEGN to be stationed at Luton Airport 24/7 King Air Replacement Mask and, depending on the time of year, Carbon Fiber there are either one or two crews in readiness to be airborne within 90 minutes of receiving a request for a flight to take engineers and/or parts to any of the airline’s fleet of Phone (800) 237-6902 300+ airliners that may be grounded www.aerox.com anywhere in Europe.

8 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 Howard Palsar serves as CEO of DragonFly and started the charter business after he discovered firsthand how using general aviation for business travel was efficient and valuable.

Howard said his experience operating King Airs has the charter. “I follow the principle that I had in my law confirmed his choice when starting the company. “The practice, which was to provide a complete personal King Air is a truly iconic machine that has evolved service to clients so that they would bring repeat business through a process of continuous development,” he said. or spread a favorable word,” he said. “In 16 years, we “Apart from winglets it is difficult to distinguish a new have done very little advertising. Our growth has been 250 from much earlier versions of the aircraft. It has a from recommendation and word of mouth.” commanding ramp presence which never fails to impress He added: “The judicious charter of an aircraft is an passengers. It does everything well.” efficient and cost-effective use of time: private flight His team’s focus is to continue to impress passengers is not simply an indulgence by the rich and famous. with the service they receive before, during and after Remember, that the business sprang from my experience

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 9 G-OLIV, a 2003 King Air B200, was purchased on behalf of client and is managed and operated for charter by DragonFly. It was originally used as a training aircraft by the Royal Air Force and reconfigured to a civil aircraft.

TCCA | FAA APPROVED| EASA

10 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 The King Air 250 purchased directly from cut, requiring a shift in focus from the factory for a new client and managed the usual commercial activity to a by DragonFly is a favorite with clients. The fight for survival until such time comfort of the brand-new interior adds the as some semblance of normalcy is extra touch. restored in the aviation world. DragonFly’s last AOG flight was on March 21 from Hamburg, Germany, to London Gatwick. The U.K. lock­ down restrictions were imposed on March 24. All five aircraft (the four King Air and the Nextant 400 jet) returned to Cardiff and were placed on a “care and maintenance” package to maintain their airworthiness, and most em­ plo­yees were furloughed. All ad hoc charter bookings were canceled. The shutdown came at a time of year when activity typically picks up after a quieter winter for both parts of the business (charter and AOG support). DragonFly has elected not to suspend its AOC but to maintain in piloting my own light aircraft its operational capability. As a for business travel and discovering result it has performed a handful firsthand the time savings and sheer of emergency flights, and is in a convenience that I could achieve.” position to become fully operational very quickly. Enduring pandemic times Howard said that the airline whose Howard and Nerida are the sole AOG recovery the business supports directors and shareholders in planned to resume a limited flight DragonFly: he serves as CEO and schedule in mid-June that would accountable manager for the AOC, likely regenerate AOG activity in while she is the CAA-approved the near future. ground operations manager “It is too early to judge the extent responsible for ground operations, of the loss of income, but it will be day-to-day finances and human substantial,” said Howard, who is of resources. They entered 2020 the view that when general travel with 22 employees, including 14 restrictions are lifted in the U.K. pilots. Maintenance on the King there will be a surge in private Airs is carried out by an external charter, on the reasoning that company, Iscavia Ltd, based in clients who can afford it would prefer South West England, a two-hour to fly in a private aircraft where the drive that is reduced to 15 minutes environment and precautions can be in the air by flying directly across tightly controlled rather than trust the Bristol Channel. their luck in the back of a Boeing We reached the Palsers while or Airbus. they were in self-isolation at their Howard concluded by saying: “We home just outside Cardiff. They have been running and growing this were then 11 weeks into their business over a period of 16 years ongoing isolation in compliance with all of the weather, economic with strict regulations imposed by and engineering issues that are a the U.K. and Welsh Governments to daily feature of aviation. Whatever it contain the COVID-19 pandemic. takes, we intend to get through this Restrictions on travel imposed by pandemic and continue to provide the governments meant that literally the quality service for which we are overnight both income streams were renowned.” KA

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 11 ASK THE EXPERT

Treat Your King Air Kindly by Tom Clements

hat’s your King Air to you? Is it only an home hangar. Doing this at the end of the day, before inanimate object that provides transportation the carcasses have a chance to harden into the paint convenience for the owner(s)? Or is it something and boots, makes the task go swiftly. Hit the prop boots Wmore, something that provides that mystical “pride of and blades and spinners while you’re at it. This doesn’t ownership” that makes you smile whenever you see it? negate the need for periodic “deep cleaning” but it For a lot of us – especially the owner-pilots among us goes a long way towards keeping the airplane neat and – the King Air is definitely more than a mere means of presentable for the next flight. transportation. It is a member of our family that brings Don’t overlook the windshields. Get out the ladder, great pleasure and enjoyment to our endeavors. Let me a spray bottle and a microfiber towel and have at it. A give you a few tips on how you can treat “her” kindly. mixture that I have used for eons – recommended in Afterall, there’s the law of reciprocity: Treat her kindly the old days by PPG itself – is a 50/50 mix of isopropyl and she’ll be more inclined to return the favor to you. alcohol and purified water with a couple of drops of Joy Cleanliness: A bucket of water and two terrycloth dishwashing detergent added. It takes off bugs easily towels – one wet, one dry – work wonders in getting and leaves no streaks. I use my bare hand to rub in bugs off of the leading edges when she’s back in the the mixture for the cleaning and then use the towel to ›

12 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 13 wipe it dry. It works well on the plastic side windows models – until you can grab the door handle with your too when they need cleaning. right hand. Rotate the handle fully counterclockwise About that nasty exhaust soot: The one big disadvantage (CCW) – the opening position – to withdraw the door of a conventionally mounted PT6 powerplant is that the hooks and bayonets into the door itself. Now place the exhaust comes out near the front of the engine and hence door in the frame – don’t slam it! – and rotate the handle the cowling and nacelle get coated with the exhaust fully clockwise as far as it will go. See how easy that is? residue. A student once opined to me that “The PT6 is No slamming. No noise. No bayonets hitting the the only engine that must continually fly through its as they get pushed in far enough to allow the door to own a-hole!” He kinda nailed the problem, eh? Some close. Before you head for the cockpit, of course you exhaust stacks work better than others in keeping the will make the six or seven checks to verify the door is cowling soot to a minimum, but no stack prevents the properly closed. problem entirely. You should have learned these checks in your initial The longer the exhaust remains the harder it is to training program. In case you need a reminder: One, the remove, so this is another task that merits regular door handle won’t rotate in the opening CCW direction. attention … a last-flight-of-the-day cleaning whenever Two, three, four and five … the green stripes on the practicable. Many products are available and you bayonets are visible, centered in the viewing windows. probably already have a favorite. Mine is a spray bottle (I keep a flashlight in a seat back pocket near the door filled with about a 1:10 ratio of Simple Green and water. to help in viewing this.) Six, lift the center step to view Spray it on, wipe it off with a towel … the nacelle is the inspection window – it has its own light operated by a clean again until the next flight! little push button beside the viewing window – and verify that the red arm is properly engaged by the plunger. Gentleness: How are you at closing the cabin door? Seven – for the 300-series only – push the button for Whenever I am sitting in the cockpit while someone else the hook inspection lights up above the door and verify closes the door, I can immediately tell how adept he or that they look normal. she is at this task. How? By sound. If I can hear the door being operated it’s not being done in an optimal manner. It seems that closing the door from the outside is also Here’s the best way: Use a hand-over-hand pulling action a weak area of “gentleness” for many pilots. First, bend on the aft door cable – the standard, only cable on many your knees and lift up the door itself to start the process.

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14 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 One way we can be kind to our King Air is being gentler when closing the cabin door. (Textron Aviation)

Do not start by pulling on the lower cable section that Need to lock the door for security? If so, go ahead goes from the support arm to the door. That misguided and rotate the handle as far as it will go and lock it with action puts a big kink in the cable. See that little spring your key. But what if you’re in your own hangar and down where the cable connects to the door? Its purpose security is not an issue? You just want the door closed is to position the cable into a proper, large curve as the to keep dirt and bugs and rodents out. In this case, just door is closed. Kinked cables eventually fray, break and rotate the handle about 45 degrees, not the full 90-plus leave an exiting passenger with a nasty surprise as the degrees to the locked position. This action keeps the door is now resting on the ground! door in a “loosely closed” condition, not loading up the Once you’ve lifted the door to about waist height, now bayonets and hooks with the tension they must have to reposition your hands so that the left hand can continue hold the door against the inflight pressurization force it closing the door while the right hand reaches in to the experiences. (Side note: A King Air door is approximately upper aft cable piece – the section above the support 30 inches wide and 50 inches tall: 1,500 square inches rod – and assures that the cable goes forward (left, as of surface. Pressurize to 5.0 psid and it experiences viewed from outside) of the door’s hydraulic snubber. 7,500 pounds trying to push it open!) I am probably The natural tendency is for this cable to get trapped optimistic in my belief that not putting the full closing between the door frame’s upholstery and the snubber, forces on the hooks and bayonets when not needed will causing it to impede the next opening of the door. lead to better door reliability and less maintenance … We’re not done yet. Unless the exterior door handle but it couldn’t hurt! is again rotated to the full opening position – this time Starting engines: Starting a PT6 is easy. Starting it clockwise (CW), as viewed from outside – we will again correctly is not. That’s why two chapters in The King have the bayonets getting pushed in to the open position Air Book and at least one in Volume II are devoted by striking the fuselage. Not cool; not gentle. So, grab the to that critical procedure. Just this week I watched door handle and rotate it fully CW as you gently place a pilot initiate the start of the second engine while the door into its frame. Now rotate the handle toward the first engine was at Low Idle, not the correct High the closed position. Idle setting. To compound the problem, we were at an

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 15 Smooth taxiing not only is appreciated by your passengers in the back, but your King Air will benefit from it too. (Dan Moore VMG LLC) airport with an elevation of 6,700 feet and an OAT above tolerance, doing steep turns to licensing tolerances … 20 degrees Celsius. As the first engine got dragged down things most King Air pilots are rather good at, in regards below 50% Ng and with ITT approaching the redline, I to accuracy. Smoothness? It is much rarer to find that a emphatically demanded, “Turn off the generator!” We pilot can exhibit the proper degree of accuracy combined reverted to a second battery-only start and all was well. with smoothness. That combination demands a high But the “kindness” factor – giving the second engine level of proficiency and talent. a generator-assisted start with the benefit of a much Likewise, when taxiing. Pretend the client/boss/spouse cooler ITT peak – was non-existent. in back is continually about to take a sip from their The potential for engine harm, in my opinion, is coffee cup or martini glass. Is your taxiing smooth greatest during starting than at any other operating enough that nary a drop will be spilled? Do you start regime. Do it right, without fail, to be kind to your and stop rolling so smoothly that it’s hard to tell when powerplants. movement starts or stops? Strive for that. Your brakes, Taxiing: By the time I observe a pilot get to the runway, struts, and propellers will all benefit. I have a fairly accurate assessment of the skills he or In most cases, releasing the brakes at Low Idle will she is about to demonstrate in flight. In my opinion, start the airplane rolling. A slight hill to climb or sitting accuracy always trumps smoothness in flying. Holding on grass or dirt may prevent this “automatic” roll. In that altitude and heading perfectly, tracking an ILS with tight case, rather than adding power, a kinder technique is

16 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 to pull the propeller levers into the feather detent and then immediately place them forward. The extra bite of air almost always creates enough thrust to initiate the roll smoothly. SOFT TOUCH TIRES As taxi speed increases, it’s time to lift the power levers into the Beta BIGGER, STRONGER, SAFER, & BETTER PERFORMANCE range to decrease blade angle and thereby to reduce thrust so as to A simple tire upgrade with no strut or gear door hold the desired taxi speed without replacement or modifications needed. the need to drag the brakes. As you enter Beta, your eyes should be scanning the prop RPM gauges. Two things are important to observe: First, it is rare that the engine 405.694.4755 control rigging is so perfect that WWW.META.AERO/MSA equal results will occur on the left OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 17 and right sides when the power levers are side-by-side. If you see one tach reading 1,300 RPM and the other KING AIR is reading only 1,150, you have a problem that is easily corrected. The side at 1,300 is going faster because it WINDOW INSERTS has less rotational drag. Why? Because its blade angle STC’D-PMA /FAA APPROVED is flatter than the other side. To remedy this difference – which is causing the airplane to not roll straight – split What Is the Difference the power levers by pulling back farther on the side Between the G & D Aero Tinted Window Insert with the slower prop speed. Why, looky there! Now both and the Polaroid Interior Window Insert? props are going the same speed and directional control The $$$$$ Cost is noticeably improved. The second thing to watch for is that there is no increase in N1, indicating that you have left the Beta range and entered the Reverse range … you’ve pulled too far back. If your model has the Ground Fine stop, this should not occur until the second lift of the power levers has occurred but sometimes it is misadjusted and comes in too early. This becomes automatic for us high-time King Air pilots. The prop tachs get a lot of our attention whenever we are using the Beta Range and what we see determines With the G & D Aero tinted window you have full where the power levers get positioned. time protection against the sun and the ability to keep your passengers cool and comfortable. No Coming to a stop while taxiing should involve (1) need to make any adjustments to the windows Keeping the power levers deep into Beta so that the prop because the inserts work full time. RPM is as high as possible without any change in N1. This indicates the blade angle is near or at flat pitch, giving G & D AERO PRODUCTS the least thrust. (2) Applying brakes to achieve the stop 951-443-1224 desired. Remember the imaginary cup near the lips in back. Brake usage should be modulated and lightened so that the stop is never really felt; the nose strut never does a little dip. (3) Once the stop is achieved, apply GARMIN the brakes firmly, set the parking brake as desired, and move the power levers forward over the gate to Idle. G1000 NXi Is your King Air going to cower in the hangar corner www.DA.aero/G1000 the next time you approach or is she going to smile, wag her tail and look forward to the kindness you shower on her every time you fly? (What?! You didn’t realize that King Airs are living beings?!) KA

FOR MORE INFO, • New zero-time avionics King Air expert Tom Clements has been flying and instructing in King CONTACT: • Optional TAWS A, and TCAS II Airs for over 46 years and is the author of “The King Air Book” and • Average weight savings of 250 lbs. “The King Air Book II.” He is a Gold Seal CFI and has over 23,000 total Michael Kussatz • New autopilot, WAAS LPV hours with more than 15,000 in King Airs. For information on ordering Eastern U.S. capability, and ADS-B compliant his books, contact Tom direct at [email protected]. Tom is actively +1 531.207.3951 mentoring the instructors at King Air Academy in Phoenix. Michael.Kussatz@ Duncan Aviation Advantages: DuncanAviation.com • 28 Avionics locations across the U.S. If you have a question you’d like Tom to answer, please send it to Editor AOG Support Kim Blonigen at [email protected]. John Spellmeyer • 5 year parts and labor warranty Western U.S. • 5 years of North +1 316.214.8867 American databases John.Spellmeyer@ PLATINUM PACKAGE PURCHASE DuncanAviation.com REQUIRED TO OBTAIN 5 YEAR WARRANTY AND DATABASES (Limited Available)

18 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 King Air Magazine_DA_Due May_FINAL.indd 1 3/30/2020 10:32:31 AM JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 19 IN HISTORY

Beechcraft – Diversify or Die

During the late 1940s and into the 1950s the cyclical nature of the commercial and military aviation business forced the Beech Aircraft Corporation to seek new sources of revenue to survive by Edward H. Philips

“ t is said – not by us at Beechcraft but by those whose profession it is to know such things, that the history of general aviation is, in the main, the history of Beechcraft,” said Frank E. Hedrick, executive vice president of I 1 the company during his address to the Newcomen Society September 28, 1967.

20 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 IN HISTORY

Beechcraft – Diversify or Die

The “Dymaxion House” was designed by R. Buckminster Fuller as an affordable home for the masses, but Beech employ- ees built only one. (Textron Aviation)

The Model 35 sold well in 1946 but sales declined significantly in 1948-1949 in the wake of an economic recession. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 21 Sales of the postwar Model D18S were also affected by the economic slump, but by 1950 orders regained momentum. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)

Hedrick’s statement was bold and to a great extent, true – but the company founded by Walter and Olive Ann Beech in 1932 was only one of many that helped put wings on the world. Hedrick, who already had extensive experience in sales when he went to work at Beech Aircraft in 1940, arrived on the scene when the company was undergoing an extensive expansion of its manufacturing capabilities to meet military contracts for training airplanes. Facing an uphill struggle to meet demand, in July 1940 the decision had been made to terminate production of commercial airplanes, except for priority orders already on hand. As 1941 approached, Beech Aircraft, along with the Cessna Aircraft Company and the Wichita Division of the Boeing Airplane Company, were hiring massive numbers of workers to build President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Arsenal of Democracy” aimed at supplying Great Britain with the weapons it needed to fight Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Included in that arsenal was the goal of manufacturing 50,000 military aircraft. Such seemingly impossible targets would require a workforce of millions, and Americans quickly signed up and went to work. For example, at Beech Aircraft in November 1940, there were 1,935 men and women toiling on the production lines to build the AT-11-, C-45-, SNB- and GB-series aircraft for the United States War Department. By contrast, by June 1945 employment had peaked at more than 14,000. As the war neared its end in 1945, Hedrick had already been heavily

22 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 involved in the planning and executing of a transition One other airplane, the Model G17S, a postwar upgrade from wartime to peacetime production. of the venerable Model D17S biplane, was offered in In his speech at the Newcomen Society, Hedrick limited numbers and only 20 were eventually built. summed up the situation: “With Japan’s surrender, total It is worthy of mention that the D18S was the first United States industry faced a grim and uncompromising postwar commercial airplane to receive an Approved assignment: the transition from military to civilian Type Certificate. production. Time was of the essence – time to solidify Meanwhile, in addition to building new airplanes, dormant civilian markets, time to reestablish product Beech Aircraft management “sought out several avenues lines and time to let the economic laws of supply and of diversification” to keep the company solvent and demand adjust to a climate of peacetime coexistence.” skilled workers on the payroll. Among these “avenues Walter and Olive Ann Beech needed that time to of diversification” was the manufacture of prefabricated pull together their company’s resources, both material homes. In the wake of the war there was an enormous and personal, before launching two airplanes that had shortage of housing – a shortage so severe that some been quietly designed and developed during 1944 and experts claimed demand could not be met until the 1945 – the Model D18S and the Model 35 Bonanza. The mid-1950s. two company co-founders believed both aircraft would According to Hedrick, “So it was that Beech Aircraft put the company back on a firm commercial footing. temporarily entered the fringes of the real estate In October 1945, only two months after Japan’s industry with a prototype of [an] all-metal house.” He capitulation, had his engineers and was referring to a design created by famed inventor and production managers, including Frank Hedrick, focused architect, R. Buckminster Fuller. Dubbed the Dymaxion on manufacturing the Model D18S and the Model 35. House (shown on page 21), it was developed chiefly to

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 23 address shortcomings found in the the highly touted Dymaxion House Once again, Walter and Olive construction of homes during the – the sole example ever constructed. Ann Beech were confronted with a late 1930s and into the early 1940s. As of 2020 it resides at the Henry serious financial situation that had Fuller’s plan was to mass produce Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michi- to be addressed in hopes that better the Dymaxion design as kits that gan. The house did serve as a family times would soon return. The sales could be assembled on-site, with dwelling for about 40 years near doldrums of 1949 bled over into an emphasis placed on the ease of Wichita before it was disassembled 1950. Hedrick recalled how sales shipping and assembly. and transported to the museum for slowed “to a disquieting tempo.” The first house was completed in restoration. Fortunately, Mr. Beech once again 1930 but was redesigned in 1945 and After the war there was great “toyed with a sprinkling of projects represented one of the first major optimism throughout the light as far removed from airplanes as “A” efforts to construct an autonomous airplane industry that demand for was from “Z.” This time, it would be building in the 20th century. A personal aircraft would skyrocket, farm implements, not prefabricated postwar version of the Dymaxion with some overly optimistic houses. design became known locally as the prophets going so far as to boldly In 1949 the company entered into “Wichita House” and was Fuller’s predict that by 1947 every garage contracts with the Chicago, Illinois- would house a car and an aircraft. latest attempt to provide a cost- based Great American Harvester The economic recession that struck effective dwelling for the masses. Company to manufacture corn America in 1948-1949 quickly ended Hedrick described the house as such unattainable fantasies. Hedrick thre­sh­ers. Wichitans who drove past resembling a pumpkin, “suspended summed it up well: “The personal the Beech factory campus suddenly on a center post that permitted aircraft market declined rapidly, saw row upon row of red corn picker it to be rotated so that any of its and as a result, sales of the popular machines spread all over the airfield. segments could be aimed into the Bonanza plummeted to fewer than Sadly, as with the Fuller house sun to absorb the latent energies 350 from a high of 1,000 per year project, the timing was wrong for an of solar heat.” In addition to the in 1947.” Many small aircraft agricultural-related business venture. potential of commercial sales, companies such as Taylor craft, As Hedrick pointed out, “The corn the U.S. military expressed some Piper, Stinson and others struggled pickers were produced in late fall and interest in Fuller’s creation as to stay in business or entered into early summer and it was not until the portable housing for troops both bankruptcy proceedings. next February that a most remarkable domestically and internationally. As for Beech Aircraft’s involve- ment, the company’s experience working with sheet metal structures, coupled with its core workforce of skilled craftsmen, made it an ideal subcontractor, as were other American airframe manufacturers. A Beech Aircraft promotion of the house proudly proclaimed that, “Us- ing the very same materials and tools, even the same workers, as- sembly lines can turn them out at a clip never before seen in home construction. A quarter of a million a year in Wichita’s plants, 60,000 at Beech Aircraft alone. A complete house for $6,500 – the price of a Cadillac.” Unfortunately, no production con- The company manufactured hundreds of corn pickers for the Great American Harvester tracts were forthcoming and Beech Corporation and hay baler farm machinery for the International Harvester Company. Aircraft built only one example of (Edward H. Phillips Collection)

24 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 The U.S. Air Force dealt Beech Aircraft a near fatal blow when it suddenly canceled the T-36A program in 1953. Subcontracting helped save the company. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)

inventory was ready to go to market. But this being the offseason, there were no customers.” Undaunted, in 1949 Walter and Olive Ann had also secured con- tracts with the Seeger Refrigerator Corporation to produce aluminum vegetable crispers and meat pre- servers and topped off that year by securing work building components for cotton pickers and hay balers from the world-famous International Harvester Company. In addition to work from Seeger, Hedrick said the company “Actively sought out and accepted a scattering of similar con- tracts: plastic nozzles for hair dry- ers, a new type of individual-piece aluminum pans, parts for automatic dishwashers, and later, in a more basic military flavor, the produc- tion of thousands of 110-gallon cas- ings that, when primed with special inflammables, would serve as fire  bombs in front-line trouble zones.” Although these and other contracts were helpful in retaining DEAN BENEDICT A&P, AI, CONSULTANT workers and meeting the payroll, TEL: 702-773-1800 DR.DEAN@BEECHMEDIC.COM Hedrick emphasized that Beech  

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 25 Aircraft Company’s primary objective remained the “design and manufacture of high-performance aircraft.” By 1952 Beechcrafters were busy building not only the piston-powered T-34 Mentor primary trainer for the U.S. Air Force and the Navy but were also engaged in manufacturing fuel tanks for jet aircraft at facilities in Herrington, Kansas, that were leased to meet that demand. In 1951, however, the Air Force had issued the company a highly lucrative contract to design and develop a pressurized, twin-engine trainer designated the T-36A. The airplane could also be operated as a transport and was to be powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 static, air-cooled radial engines. Plans called for a crew of one instructor and three students, or two crewmembers and as many as 12 passengers. Performance requirements called for a maximum speed of 350 mph at 30,000 feet. It was estimated that production contracts for the T-36A would generate about $300 million annually and would have required a 200% increase in the workforce. As plans progressed 500 new employees were hired

26 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 each month, eventually leading to a company-wide By 1967 sales totaled $175 million and 10,000 men and total of 13,000 people. To meet projected demand for women were on the payroll. the new Beechcraft, the company constructed a new Hedrick summed up potential of the years ahead this building with 110,00 square feet to house manufacturing, way: “Because of the past we are better prepared today production, final assembly and delivery. to meet the challenges of the future. We shall continue During 1952 a mock-up and a pre-production prototype a planned, steady growth, relying to a great degree upon of the proposed T-36A was completed. Then suddenly, and one of our most precious assets – flexibility – which without any warning, in June 1953 the Air Force abruptly is the result of diversification of activities.” Although canceled the entire program. It was a major financial the company has become a part of Textron Aviation, blow to the company. As Hedrick described the situation, Hedrick’s words still ring equally true today. KA “There was not to be another dollar spent or another rivet driven. So abrupt was the cancellation that, much Notes: to the chagrin of engineers and test pilots alike, not one 1 In 1968 Frank E. Hedrick was elected president of Beech Aircraft flight in the prototype airplane was permitted” although Corporation. He retired in 1982 and died at age 76 in June 1987. it was only hours from its maiden flight. In the wake of Hedrick did not learn to fly but in 1932 did hold a student pilot certificate. the T-36A disaster, employment quickly plummeted to only 6,800 workers. “This was an economic disaster Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and that might have collapsed some companies, but under written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that the direction of Mrs. Beech we pulled ourselves together belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of and went forward,” Hedrick said. the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air To make matters worse, in 1953 the general aviation Capital of the World” for more than 80 years. market remained soft and sales of new were insufficient to adequately support the company’s facilities and employees. Despite the fact that subcontract opportunities after the war “had not been too successful,” workers soon began manufacturing wings, flaps, ailerons and fuselage sections for other airframe builders. These included The Boeing Company, Bell Helicopter Company, Convair, Douglas Aircraft Company, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, North American Aviation and the McDonnell Company. By 1955 these subcontracts were providing Beech Aircraft with sales amounting to $25 million – about 30% of gross sales – and continued to be a reliable source of revenue contributing $36.5 million by 1966. One year later Hedrick was able to report that for fiscal year 1967, total military and aerospace sales approached $75 million and export sales of commercial and military aircraft for the previous year totaled more than $25.5 million. A significant part of that amount was due to the company’s worldwide network of 32 distributors and 48 dealerships in 80 countries. Hedrick was once asked by a reporter to summarize the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 15 words or less. Instead, he did it in only 10: “Beech Aircraft’s business is the movement of people and products.” From its humble beginnings in 1932, Walter and Olive Ann Beech never strayed from that creed. In 1933 sales amounted to a mere $17,552 and employment stood at 10 people, including Walter, Olive Ann and engineer Ted Wells.

JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 27 VALUE ADDED

Garmin Pilot App Has New Features Navigation log and weight & balance print option on Apple Mobile Devices FltPlan.com customers in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean that file their flight plan using the FltPlan.com Garmin announced the addition of new features to website or Garmin Pilot, now have the option to print the Garmin Pilot app on Apple mobile devices. New their navigation log or the weight & balance sheet from enhancements to the document viewer allow customers Garmin Pilot. Garmin Pilot Europe subscribers also have to configure folders so they can more easily organize the option to print the IFR autorouting briefing packet. documents such as pilot’s guides, cockpit reference guides and more, within the app. Additional features Additional features: include the display of elevation information in the radial When the terrain database is downloaded, elevation menu, night mode on approach charts, the option to information can be viewed within the inner circle of print the navigation log and more. the radial menu on the map. Document viewer enhancements Documents stored within the document viewer in Garmin Pilot are now synced across all Apple mobile devices running Garmin Pilot. These folders are also customizable by color and can be reordered for improved organization of documents such as pilot’s guides, cockpit reference guides, checklists and more. Night mode on instrument approach charts

Pilots can easily view a new logbook report that details the airports they have visited. Each logbook period displays a map with pins to reflect the destination airport, as well as the date, flight time logged and more. The display and animation of lightning has been enhanced on the moving map. Garmin Pilot also supports the Apple Pencil 2 and a variety of gestures. The newest release of Garmin Pilot on Apple mobile While flying at night, pilots can now invert the colors devices is available immediately. For new customers, on Garmin FliteCharts or Jeppesen terminal approach Garmin Pilot is available in the Apple App Store as procedures for enhanced readability during night flights. a free download for the first 30 days. After the 30- Pilots have the option to select night mode from the day trial period, customers may purchase an annual menu in the top right corner when viewing a chart on subscription of Garmin Pilot starting at $79.99. Garmin the map page, in the charts binder, in split-screen view Pilot is supported by Garmin’s award-winning aviation on the synthetic page or while viewing the airport page. support team, which provides 24/7 worldwide technical Once selected, night mode is consistently displayed and warranty support. Visit www.garmin.com/aviation throughout the app. for additional information.

28 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 VALUE ADDED Your Source for King Air Landing Gear

ForeFlight Offering Live Global Traffic through FlightAware ForeFlight, in partnership with FlightAware, is now providing live global traffic streaming for all customers with the Internet Traffic feature. Integrated with the same Traffic map layer used for ADS-B devices, Internet Traffic is available any time you have an internet connection and are on the ground, as well as when connected to inflight Wi-Fi networks from Gogo or Satcom Direct. View call sign, altitude and more detailed information for any airborne traffic target. You can also see how ATC is vectoring traffic around active weather systems and plan accordingly. Zoom in to an • Inspect • Overhaul • Exchange • Install airport to see ground traffic at thousands of locations worldwide. Ground traffic fades into view alongside • Complete Ship Sets • King Air Aircraft Maintenance ForeFlight’s embedded airport diagrams, reducing clutter and providing helpful context. ForeFlight has also announced a new webinar series to improve your ForeFlight skills. Go to www.foreflight.com for more information. KA

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JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 29 ­ TECHNICALLY ...

From Multi-Engine Prop operation with the tongue web slide Any stock of spare windshields broken or missing. and existing Surface Seal® Gen II Communiqué You may obtain the Service Letter kits can continue to be used until MT-TP-0020 or the NTO letter by contacting the supplies are exhausted. If after Issued: June 2020 AmSafe at customerservice-new@ June 1 you place an order with Textron for the existing Surface ATA 25 – AmSafe Crew Seat amsafe.com Seal® Gen II kit the new Surface Belts Connector Web Slide Insert ATA 56 – Windshield Surface Seal® Gen III kit will be provided Aircraft equipped with AmSafe Seal Update instead. Crew Seat Belts All The Aircraft Maintenance Manual AmSafe has issued Service Letter (AMM) is being revised to address PPG, the supplier of the air­craft SL279213 to call attention to the the change, but this communiqué cockpit windshields, has reformu- belt connector half assembly tongue provides the necessary information lated the Surface Seal® Gen II coat- web slide where the web slide has before the revision will be available. ® been found to be cracked, damaged ing to the Surface Seal Gen III. SEE ENTIRE COMMUNIQUE for or missing (see picture below). The The purpose of the coating is to specific information at www. Service Letter provides instructions provide improved water shedding txtavsupport.com. on how to replace the tongue web performance during precipitation ATA 61 - Hartzell Propeller slide insert. conditions. The formulation change was introduced because of PPG’s Grease Change commitment to providing environ- All mentally sustainable products and Hartzell Propeller Inc. has evolving regulation while not reduc- announced, via Service Letter ing the water shedding performance. HC-SL-61-366, a change to the On June 1, 2020, the existing grease used on these propellers. Surface Seal® Gen II coating will The new grease is NYCO GN3058. become obsolete. After this date PPG Textron Aviation recommends that will provide only the new Surface you refer to this Service Letter In addition to the Service Letter, Seal® Gen III coating whether it be available from Hartzell Propellers AmSafe has also issued a no tech­ for spare windshields or PPG kits Inc. Textron Aviation will be making nical objection (NTO) letter allowing used for refurbishing the coating. the necessary changes to the applicable King Air, 99 and 1900 Airliner maintenance manuals to reflect this change.

Short-N-Numbers.com The information provided in this column may be abbreviated for space purposes. For the entire We specialize in US aircraft registration numbers communication, go to: with 3-digits or less www.txtavsupport.com.

Examples: 1K, 3C, 22W, 50G, 8MG, 3CC, 1VM, 4GS, 400, 510

Over 1,800 N-numbers to choose from

30 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 ­ ADVERTISING INDEX

1st Source Bank ...... Inside Back Cover Duncan Aviation...... 18 Meta Special Aerospace LLC...... 17

Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems...... 8 Elliott Aviation...... Inside Front Cover More Company...... 17

AVCON Industries Inc...... 25 Factory Direct Models...... 27 Paul Bowen...... 32

AvFab...... 5 G & D Aero Products Inc...... 18 Raisebeck Engineering...... 7

Banyan Air Service...... 23 Hillaero Modification Center...... 8 Select Airparts...... 26

BeechMedic LLC...... 25 Ice Shield/SMR Technologies...... 29 Short-N-Numbers...... 30

Blackhawk Modifications...... 13 Innovative Solutions & Support...... Back Cover Trace Aviation...... 29

Cleveland Wheels & Brakes...... 17 King Air Academy...... 26 Vac-Veterans Airlift Command...... 19

Conversion Air ...... 22 Lee Aerospace...... 11 Yingling Aviation...... 14

Corporate Angel Network...... 31 Marsh Brothers Aviation...... 10

32 • ­KING AIR MAGAZINE JULY 2020 JULY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •­ 3